What We Believe

Everyone believes in something. And perhaps more than anything else, our beliefs - accurate or not - shape who we are, and who we ultimately become.

At ECC we believe that the christian life is both compelling and beautiful, and that it represents the truth about who we are and why we are here.

Word

Imagine a god who was silent. Who never shared thoughts nor expressed intention. Imagine a god who never said anything about good or evil, nor seemed to care much which prevailed. Imagine a god who, short of creating us, never bothered to understand us, never showed up. Imagine a god who occasionally offered rewards and punishments, but never got personal. Imagine a god who was the source of all truth, justice, goodness, grace, beauty, and love, yet couldn’t be bothered to show us the way.

At ECC we believe the Bible is both inspired and inspiring because it is the truth about a God who does more than merely exist. This collection of history, poetry, gospel, letter, parable, and wisdom is the light on our otherwise very dark path. It reveals God to us in ways that surprise, convict, and empower us to live and truly live. We believe in a God who still speaks.

Good & Evil

Why the world needs saving is a fair question. But the only admission one need make for it to gain relevance is that we live in a world where good and evil in fact do exist. More than this, evil (sin if you like) poisons everything. It poisons our relationships, our business endeavors, our art, our planet, our politics, our health, and our minds.

At ECC we believe Jesus Christ saves the world by saving us, one life at a time. Together, changed, we become a force for good in our homes and community, inspired and humbled by a God who refuses to give up.

Transformation

Jesus spoke about many things, but every subject to which he lent his voice had one thing in common. All of it openly anticipated a new reality, something he was known for calling “the kingdom of God.” Unlike the empires and kingdoms of his day, Jesus’ vision was a reality marked by God’s Spirit, moving through real people to live up to the image we all hold within us. It was a kingdom of conscience, carried forth in the hearts and minds of those daring enough to welcome God into their midst; a kingdom built on the example, ethics, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke about a world transformed.

At ECC we believe that Christian community should be the clearest expression of this kind of transformation, that the church should be a place unlike anywhere else - a place thoroughly compelled by the love and priorities of God.

Spirit

The world many choose to live in is a reality they can see and touch and nothing more. Love? A chemical reaction in the brain. A woman lunging into traffic to help a stranger? Perpetuation of the species. The numinous experience of looking on a magnificent landscape or becoming lost in a piece of art? Evolutionary aesthetics.

At ECC we believe in a far richer and complex reality - a reality within, around, and beyond us. We believe in a God who enters our experience, not just as one who winds up a clock and leaves it to tick, but as one who has been guiding, inspiring, and empowering people since time began. We believe in God's Spirit.

Incarnation

Imagine being shipwrecked with a handful of friends somewhere in the South Pacific. For ten years you share the grain and grit of a life defined by the need to simply survive, marking time and experiences for which words will forever be inadequate. Some die. Just a few survive. After years of struggle you are finally rescued, and friends and family welcome you home with fanfare. They do their best to make you feel at home, and ask the earnest but well-meaning question: so what was it like?

When it comes to God there are only two possibilities - the God who was with you on the island, or the god who will forever wonder what it must have been like. At ECC we believe in the former, the God who never has to wonder because he was there with us. This God we know by the name of Jesus.